Role of jargon in the patient–doctor communication in the dental healthcare sector—A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Medical terminology is useful for better communication between medical and dental professionals. Overzealous use of this terminology and use of medical terms during patient interaction hamper the complete understanding of the doctor's explanation about their health status. Nowadays, the usage of abbreviations or short terminology in health sectors has become common during all stages like the patient's initial visit, during the diagnosis, and even during the treatment plan stage. The objective was to know the commonly used jargon in the dental profession and to know the effect of the commonly used jargon on patient–doctor communication and treatment outcomes. Three major scientific databases were used as search engines PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus by following three main search criteria, the common use of jargon in the dental profession, effect of jargon on patient–doctor communication, and treatment outcomes. An approach to meta-synthesis was used in the qualitative research methodology. With the Sandelowski and Barroso approach, meta-synthesis was carried out. Following database searches, during the years 2001 to 2022, 424 studies were gathered. Ten sources were then chosen and used in the analysis stage. Usage of jargon in dental professions has an effect on patient–doctor communication, and to an extent, it also has an effect on the treatment plan which further has its effect on treatment outcome. The correlation ratio (COR) of frequency of jargon is 0.46 (0.34; 0.57), with P value <0.0001, which indicates the presence of these issues in dental healthcare sector. The cautious use of jargon within the health profession will be beneficial in terms of professional communication with the patients and also helps in rendering better treatment to the patients.